WASHINGTON - A massive explosion rocked BP`s biggest oil refinery in the United States Wednesday, killing several people and shooting an acrid pall of smoke high into the sky above the coastal site in Texas.
Authorities said terrorism was not suspected as being behind the blast at the British company`s sprawling Texas City site on the shores of Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, just south of Houston.
The facility produces 30 percent of BP`s North American oil and three percent of the entire US supply. The blast sent oil prices back up in after-hours trading in New York after they had slipped lower during the day.
"The accident has caused injuries to multiple BP workers, and it is with deep sadness that I must report that there have been fatalities," BP site manager Don Parus said.
"We have not had time to investigate causes, and we will not speculate. But at this time, terrorism is not a primary focus of our concern," he added.
In March last year the FBI warned Texas oil refineries of a potential terrorism threat in the wake of deadly train blasts in Madrid, which came two-and-a-half years after the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Five days after the FBI warning a series of blasts ripped though the BP petrochemical complex at Texas City, but a fire in a furnace was found to be the cause.
BP was unable to confirm how many people had been killed or injured in Wednesday`s incident, but US media reports spoke of four dead.
The blast occurred at the western end of the 1,200-acre (486-hectare) facility at 1:20 pm (1920 GMT). Firefighters battled for three hours to bring the resulting blaze under control.
"The fire is out, and we are working with local authorities to bring the situation fully under control and to provide emergency medical care for the injured," Parus said.
"Efforts are continuing to account for all personnel."
Local authorities enacted emergency planning, ordering all schoolchildren and thousands of nearby residents to stay indoors for more than two hours before concluding that there was no environmental hazard.
"The emergency is contained. Search-and-rescue missions will continue should that prove necessary," said John Lee, planning coordinator for the Galveston County office of emergency management.
"There was an explosion and a fire involving a type of petroleum naphtha, a partially refined gasoline".
"We do not know what caused the explosion. I`m sure that every possibility is being looked into, but we have had no indications of foul play including terrorism."
The blast created a thick pall of black smoke stretching as high as 4,000 feet (1,220 metres), but light winds dispersed the acrid fog over the Gulf of Mexico.
According to BP, the Texas City site groups 30 refinery units and handles 460 million barrels of oil a day. It pumps out enough gasoline to fill up a car every seven seconds.
Witnesses said the explosion was stunning.
Judith Mantell, a 62-year-old social worker, said the blast rattled the windows of her house five miles (eight kilometres) away and lifted her truck a couple of inches into the air.
"It was unbelievable, the flames shot more than 70 feet (21 metres) into the air," she told the online edition of the Houston Chronicle.
"I`ve never seen flames that high from anything. They were bright orange, with yellow on the side," she said.
A small section of the channel serving the port of Houston close by Texas City was closed for safety inspections but soon re-opened, port authority and coast guard officials said.
Earlier reports said the entire channel had been closed to commercial shipping as a result of the blast.
03/23/2005 23:41 GMT